The stock market crash of October 29, 1929, impacted Rust Engineering as it did nearly all businesses. Correspondence from this time shows that in the early 1930s, the company was forced to let many employees go and cut the salaries of most others, often more than once. S.M. Rust pulled funds from his personal savings to secure loans. Rust Engineering survived the hardship through its versatility, taking on any jobs, large or small, that it could secure.

In 1936, the National Recovery Administration's (NRA) "codes of fair competition" became a major concern for Rust Engineering and many other corporations. Part of Roosevelt's New Deal to restore the economy and pull the nation out of depression, NRA codes were intended to discourage aggressive competition by setting minimum wages and maximum hours for workers. Following the codes was not required by law, but public boycotts of companies that could not display the Blue Eagle symbol of compliance pressured businesses to conform. Rust Engineering was affected by a number of codes, and fearing that the cuts were too drastic and could severely impair the company's ability to function, E.M. Rust of the Washington office formed a committee to have certain exceptions made under the constructor's code. He argued that "engineering constructors", which handle both design work and construction, operate differently than pure construction companies and required different rules. The NRA code files contain correspondence and other documents that trace these efforts, which were ultimately successful.

During the 1930s, S.M. Rust, Jr. worked closely with his father and became operating manager in 1939. S.M. Rust, Sr., still president, began building his estate "Murray Hill" in Leesburg, Virginia, and had his son and other officers send daily reports to keep track of office activity. After 1939, the files become primarily those of S.M.Rust, Jr.

Subseries 1.Correspondence

Box 22

Folder

01-04

S.M. Rust correspondence, January-December, 1930

Folder

5

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1930

Folder

6

New York Office correspondence, 1930

Folder

07-08

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1930

Folder

09-10

S.M. Rust correspondence, January-December, 1931

Box 23

Folder

01-02

Correspondence between S.M. Rust and C.F. Drew, 1931

Folder

3

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1931

Folder

4

New York Office correspondence, 1931

Folder

5

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1931

Folder

06-08

S.M. Rust correspondence, January-August, 1932

Box 24

Folder

1

S.M. Rust correspondence, September-December, 1932

Folder

2

Correspondence between S.M. Rust and C.F. Drew, 1932

Folder

3

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1932

Folder

4

New York Office correspondence, 1932

Folder

5

Philadelphia Office correspondence, 1932-1939

Folder

06-07

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1932

Folder

08-09

S.M. Rust correspondence, January-December, 1933

Folder

10

Correspondence between S.M. Rust and C.F. Drew, 1933

Folder

11

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1933

Folder

12

New York Office correspondence, 1933

Box 25

Folder

1

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1933

Folder

02-03

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence -- E.M. Rust, 1933

Folder

04-07

S.M. Rust correspondence, January-December, 1934

Folder

8

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1934

Folder

9

New York Office correspondence, 1934

Folder

10-11

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1934

Box 26

Folder

01-02

S.M. Rust correspondence, January-December, 1935

Folder

3

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1935

Folder

4

New York Office correspondence, 1935

Folder

05-07

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1935

Folder

08-10

S.M. Rust Day File, January-December, 1935

Box 27

Folder

01-04

S.M. Rust correspondence, January-December, 1936

Folder

5

Correspondence between S.M. Rust and C.F. Drew, 1936

Folder

6

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1936

Folder

7

Chicago Office correspondence, 1936

Folder

8

New York Office correspondence, 1936

Folder

09-12

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1936

Box 28

Folder

01-04

S.M. Rust Day File, January-December, 1936

Folder

05-07

S.M. Rust correspondence, January-December, 1937

Box 29

Folder

1

Interoffice correspondence, 1937

Folder

2

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1937

Folder

2

Chicago Office correspondence, 1937

Folder

3

New York Office correspondence, 1937

Folder

04-06

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1937

Folder

7

S.M. Rust Day File, January-February, 1937

Box 30

Folder

01-05

S.M. Rust Day File, March-December, 1937

Folder

6

S.M. Rust Correspondence, 1938

Box 31

Folder

01-02

S.M. Rust Correspondence, 1938

Folder

03-07

S.M. Rust Day File, January-September, 1938

Box 32

Folder

01-02

S.M. Rust Day File, October-December, 1938

Folder

03-09

General Day File, March-December, 1938

Folder

10

Birmingham Office correspondence, March-April, 1938

Box 33

Folder

01-03

Birmingham Office correspondence, May-December, 1938

Folder

4

Chicago Office correspondence, 1938

Folder

5

New York Office correspondence, 1938

Folder

06-07

Washington, D.C. Office correspondence, 1938

Box 34

Folder

1

Correspondence, 1939

Folder

02-03

S.M. Rust Day File, January-August, 1939

Folder

04-05

S.M. Rust, Jr. Day File, January-December, 1939

Folder

06-07

Correspondence between S.M. Rust and C.F. Drew, 1939

Folder

8

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1939

Box 35

Folder

1

Birmingham Office correspondence, 1939

Folder

2

New York Office correspondence, 1939

Folder

03-04

Personal mail and trade articles, 1930-1939

Subseries 2.Job Files

Scope and Content Notes:

Job files contain documents related to the acquisition of jobs, such as proposals and contracts, as well as folders on individual jobs filed alphabetically by client name. More information about these jobs, as well as those which did not receive their own folders can be found in the correspondence files. The type of work, location, job number, and dates have been included where possible.